grubstreet

[gruhb-street]

adjective

produced by a hack; poor in quality: a grubstreet book.

noun

Grub Street(def 2).

Origin of grubstreet

First recorded in 1640–50

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for grubstreet

Historical Examples of grubstreet

You see,” he added apologetically, “when people begin to talk about anybody, we Grubstreet hacks thrive on the gossip.
The Strollers
Frederic S. Isham

Word Origin and History for grubstreet

1620s, "originally the name of a street in Moorfields in London, much inhabited by writers of small histories, dictionaries, and temporary poems; whence any mean production is called grubstreet" [Johnson]. Name changed 1830 to Milton Street (after a local developer) then erased entirely 1970s by the Barbicon complex.